Are Bliksem Hosting Dead?

Portal Home > Knowledgebase > Articles Database > Are Bliksem Hosting Dead?

Posted by spib, 12-04-2006, 06:55 AM
Hi, I've been with Bliksem for a couple of years and had no problems with them at all but then this weekend I found all my sites were down as was bliksem's support site. Has anyone been able to contact them and find out what happened? From the threads I've seen here it looks possible that they have gone out of business which is not good news for me because my backups are a month old. I've sent them emails but they aren't responding so I've setup a new VPS with ServInt and I'm in the process of setting everything up again but I'd like to recover the data if I can Cheers
Posted by WireNine, 12-04-2006, 06:57 AM
Looks like it, no one has been able to get in touch with them for the past few weeks. You might have to start with your old month backups and continue from there, it might be your only option because it looks like they apparently do not care for their customers.
Posted by tarzanna, 12-04-2006, 10:19 AM
Yeah, I'm afraid so too. The last I heard from them was on November 27th when server Luna went down. Things were working again for a few days....but then everything seemed to go offline Friday. Jav's new comapny...'hostingjoy' also seems to be down now as well. Sorry to hear you got stuck without recent backups. I was able to finish moving to a new host literally hours before things went offline at Bliksem.
Posted by spib, 12-04-2006, 10:27 AM
If I'd have known they were having problems I would have pulled out immeadiately but I had no loss of service and no emails to tell me things were going wrong. I've got a nightly job on my local PC to download backups of all the domain on my bliksem account but it hasn't been running for a few weeks because of a hardware fault on my local machine. Any way I might be able to get back onto their servers? I think I was on server blauwwerk.
Posted by eleven, 12-04-2006, 10:27 AM
I was unable to backup everything and move it. When things went up, I was frantically trying and told all my customers too.. Now were down again. How does one go about going after these guys in terms of legal issues? I want to sue Jav and and willing to throw some money at it? Even if I could get these things up for like anothr 24 hours. Does anyone know where Bliksem was buying their servers from? Could we go directly to the source? I'd pay decent money to get my files/sites.
Posted by tarzanna, 12-04-2006, 11:20 AM
I'm not sure how much anyone can really do at this point. Another WHT member created a blog at bliksemfraud.blogspot.com/ to generate support for taking legal action against Bliksem. You can find their post by doing a search here for 'Bliksem'. I submitted a complaint to the BBB...(not like that is going to help anything though). Their support desk is still up at hostingjoy.com/help/. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll get a reply from there any time soon, as it has said '17 Tickets Awaiting Response' for the past several days. I'm not sure if this is an accurate representation of their network anymore...but their network status page is located at serverjoy.net/network/ And finally....there is a forum at hostingjoy.com/forum/ - but no one has posted on it and it appears to be a fresh SMF (Simple Machines Forum) installation. If it weren't for my 2nd reseller account on Luna...I never would have known they were having problems either. Half of my clients were hosted on BluBlitz...which was absolutely fine until this weekend. Last edited by tarzanna; 12-04-2006 at 11:32 AM.
Posted by tarzanna, 12-04-2006, 12:55 PM
After looking up the available public records for the domain & IP of the new company (hostingjoy)....here is some more info that may help anyone trying to track them down: The IP addresses for both ServerJoy.net (where their network status page is located) and HostingJoy.com (the new hosting company) traces to Liquid Web, Inc in Lansing MI. After going to their website, I see that they recently opened a new datacenter. In my last communication with Jav...he mentioned moving to a new datacenter. Maybe this is where he went. Perhaps if you contact Liquid Web and explain the situation....they can help you gain access to your data or...at the very least...provide some additional intel as to what is going on (since there has been absolutely no communication from Bliksem). Here is the domain/ip info I used to search with at http://www.dnsstuff.com New Company Domains & IPs ServerJoy.net (Location of their new Network Status Page) - IP 69.16.202.178 Quick Links: WHOIS Lookup | DNS Report | IPWHOIS | IP Lookup from LiquidWeb HostingJoy.com (New Company Domain) - IP 69.16.199.169 Quick Links: WHOIS Lookup | DNS Report | IPWHOIS | IP Lookup from LiquidWeb Old / Original Domains & IP Bliksemhosting.com - IP 69.119.52.126 BliksterHQ.com (offline) - Their old forum Blikhelp.com (offline) - Their old support desk
Posted by lindmar, 12-04-2006, 02:15 PM
Well liquidweb is a regular advertiser here? Maybe they can shed some light... If my old sites are somewhere with them.. I'd be willing to buy a server with them to get these back up..... Can anyone confirm where the old datacenters were? With greenwerk, redwerk? And is the source host, ever willing to work with the end-user bypassing the original reseller???
Posted by andychvt, 12-04-2006, 02:56 PM
About 2 weeks ago, I could see that Bliksem was going down after reading the other posts here and having all my sites go down. I moved everything away, but thought I would check back in to see what was happening with Bliksem. I got the following email from them on the afternoon of Nov. 30th, which may be of some help to others. From:BliksemHosting [admin@bliksemhosting.com] Sent: Thu 11/30/2006 2:43 PM Subject: IMMEDIATE ATTENTION REQUIRED!! As you are aware, the BliksemHosting management team has been dissatisfied wtih the level of technical support & attention received from the Superb Data Center for some time now. We have attempted to resolve these issues over the last three months to no avail. Due to this, management has decided to cease our contract with Superb Data Center effective immediately. This decision will require a server move to a more powerful & stable server at the LiquidWeb Data Center. The server your account/s are being moved to is a Dual Xeon 3.06 64-bit with 4GB RAM. You will undoubtedly see an increase in power and stability, not to mention a more stable network, on server Barza, At this time, it is imperative that you change the name servers to your account/s immediately. This will help you avoid unnecessary downtime for your sites, as well as reduce the risk of any possible data loss. Your account/s have already been migrated to server Barza. The migration should be seemless once you change your name servers to all of your hosted sites. Barza Name Servers: ns1.co-opnet.net ns2.co-opnet.net IP address to Barza (use this IP to access e-mail, cPanel, WHM & ftp on the new server until the domain resolves): IP address: 69.16.252.204 cPanel Access: IP:2083 (secure) -or- IP/cpanel WHM Access: IP:2087 (secure) -or- IP/whm Webmail: IP:2096 (secure) -or- IP/webmail If you're using private or custom name servers you can request that those be set up via the helpdesk located at the following URL: (I had to delete URLS in order to post this.) It is important that you change DNS immediately to the server's anonymous name servers given above to avoid prolonged downtime for your sites. After your DNS changes propagate throughout the Internet, you may open a support ticket to request that your custom or private DNS be created. As with any migration to a different server utilizing a different server configuration and operating system than the host server, some scripts or the server's configuration may require tweaks. If after the migration is complete your sites experience script or software issues, please open a support ticket with details (including the URL and error codes) for immediate assistance. If you have any questions please contact us via the help desk at the above noted URL. Again, we stress that it is imperative that you immediately modify your sites' name servers to avoide prolonged downtime. Sincerely, BliksemHosting Management Team
Posted by eleven, 12-04-2006, 03:01 PM
WOW! I just got on to one of my sites with that info... Holy crap.. you could be the saviour.
Posted by spib, 12-04-2006, 03:01 PM
Think you've just saved my life. I was able to ftp in on those details and there are my files waiting for me
Posted by spib, 12-04-2006, 03:05 PM
Does cpanel work for you on that? I get an error that it can't find the skin files. If it does work what is the skinname you are using?
Posted by eleven, 12-04-2006, 03:07 PM
Im in one right now with cpanel x
Posted by eleven, 12-04-2006, 03:10 PM
OK I need some immediate assistance. Is there any decent software to do full backups and move these sites? Anyone use cpsitesaver? Anyone that can tell me anything? Thanks
Posted by tarzanna, 12-04-2006, 03:11 PM
Yup - It works for me too. I can access both of my old accounts now... Personally....I'd still be nervous about staying with them because.... A. It seems like a lot of people never got that email (including me) B. There has been a lot of bad press here in the last month without any response from Bliksem (who used to post regularly) C. They still haven't been responding to emails & support tickets from the new location. Even so....I was imagining the worst all this time (that Bliksem just up and left their clients high and dry) - so it is a relief to know they didn't (completely anyways).
Posted by eleven, 12-04-2006, 03:15 PM
Im not staying but I need to know how to move my sites properly and get them with a company whos willing to take my money every month but provide me with service in return!
Posted by tarzanna, 12-04-2006, 03:19 PM
I moved to HostNine.com. They did all the transfers for me (I just had to give them my WHM login info). After the headache with Bliksem and days of angry emails from clients....it was a huge weight off of my shoulders having them take care of the bulk of my move. They started transferring my accounts within an hour of signing up and everything was finished within 24 hours (most accounts well before that....but the Bliksem servers were running slow). Not sure if they have the kind of plans/services you need ....but from what I've experienced so far -I'd recommend them. The only two drawbacks I've seen so far are that: 1) They're pretty new and 2) they don't allow overselling (which could also be considered a plus) Best of luck...
Posted by eleven, 12-04-2006, 03:23 PM
Well I gotta find someone while I can access my WHM...
Posted by tarzanna, 12-04-2006, 03:29 PM
At the very least...while you are researching new hosting providers and/or backup software....you could start going to your client cpanels (accessing them one at a time through WHM) and generating backups for each of them through the cpanel Backup tool. If you've used it before...you'll know that it can take a while to generate/download a full backup - so you'd have time in between each backup to research new hosts.
Posted by nax9, 12-04-2006, 03:30 PM
Use the built-in cPanel backup tool..generate a full backup. You won't be able to download them with your reseller password, so depending on how many clients you have, after the backups are generated, change their cPanel passwords. Login to each one as the cPanel user, and download each and every one of them. Or, you can signup quickly with a host, but you're not guaranteed a timely retrieval of backups. I would consider just downloading them all for the time being, then finding a host.
Posted by andychvt, 12-04-2006, 03:58 PM
I am pleased that I was able to help, because I have received help from others in in the past here. As I said before, I moved on and would be nervous remaining a Bliksem customer after all I have been through. One of the reasons I checked in on things today was because for some unknown reason, the nameservers of one of the sites I switched away from Bliksem's redwerk server to a different host, was switched back to redwerk yesterday at 1and1 (the domain registrar). I didn't make that request and as far as I know, nobody else knows the settings to my 1and1 control panel. To make things worse, everything for that certain domain I was developing at the new host disappeared. I can't begin to figure out what is happening with this. Any ideas?
Posted by andychvt, 12-04-2006, 04:30 PM
My apologies. Everyone can ignore my last post. I think I found the problem I was having. Good luck to everyone else on their Web site moving.
Posted by mesobob, 12-04-2006, 06:25 PM
Maybe they should send that email to themselves too! So the lack of communication from Bliksem, the taking money from folks credit cards, the triple billings etc are all the data centers fault. I would back up my data and be gone.
Posted by lindmar, 12-04-2006, 06:44 PM
I wish someone could give a good reccomendation on whom to move too. I look through the offers forum and find pages and pages of all new hosts, potential bliksems or worse..
Posted by -3RROR-, 12-04-2006, 07:20 PM
Search through the hosting forums for reviews on companies. That will give you people's take on them so you know whether or not they can be trusted.
Posted by lindmar, 12-04-2006, 07:24 PM
Yes! Thats the problem of how I got here in the first place. Bliksem came 'highly' reccomended as a stable and great host, jav was a reputable operate etc etc
Posted by -3RROR-, 12-04-2006, 07:27 PM
Well it is a chance you take. Stable hosts can crash and just drop off the face of the Earth. All I can recommend is to try again, but make sure you do your research (even if you did last time as well). Hosting, like you've seen, is a very difficult industry to find a perfect home for your site.
Posted by C~J~V, 12-04-2006, 11:05 PM
hey mesobob... You forgot to mention the fine customer relations repoir that Jav is so famous for. And this time Javieboy isn't saying "it's not our fault, it's yours" Instead he's saying... "it's not our fault, it's the data center" Yeah, sure... we believe ya there Javster.... because you've been so friggin honest all along. Still would like to know why, if "it's Superbs fault", did you have your phone shut off? (yeah, it's totaly not in service now) And Why is all your DNS info changing on nearly a daily basis??? Where are ya Jav??? I have something for ya. I see this Nov 30th email as some sort of ploy to try and keep some accounts for future bilking.
Posted by xTiNcTion, 12-04-2006, 11:35 PM
yep... i have seen that too. I recomend u when chosing your new host: 1. Not overselling!!! Many here will tell you there's no problem with overselling if do it correctly bla bla bla... but this is cuz they oversell too. 2. Host that Limit / Control resource usage. look for a host that limit or control their resource. i mean, strict and logical rulez about resource usage. For example, dont expect to host 300 hundreds sites on a $10/m account. Another example is the ridiculous-and-sure-to-fail Site5's offers: $5/month 5Gb space/ 5Tb transfer. have to say: OMG!!!! really insane quality hosting cost, remember that you get what you pay.
Posted by VER-Mo, 12-06-2006, 10:35 AM
Its really unfortunate. They used to have such a great reputation on here. I hope they set everything right and redeem themselves.
Posted by VER-Mo, 12-06-2006, 10:35 AM
Its really unfortunate. They used to have such a great reputation on here. I hope they set everything right and redeem themselves.
Posted by C~J~V, 12-07-2006, 12:06 AM
That notion is unlikely when you consider that this is the second time for Jav and he's in the process of setting up his third (hostingjoy). Bliksem didn't just harm their clients, they caused harm to the industry. I would never buy hosting from a company that I couldn't go to an office and visit. This puts most of them out of business as far as I'm concerned. The only options left for me are the likes of Verio or LiquidWeb or similar. All the small hosting companies can thank Jav, Monty, Christina, and Frankie for killing their business. I'm certainly not alone in this feeling.
Posted by lindmar, 12-07-2006, 10:22 AM
Well, you say liquidweb which is where the new bliksem sites are being stored right now. I'm still interested if in this extreme situation, liquid web could legally ever consider a flip & switch and let me buy a VPS or something from them and help me pull my sites away from bliksem... I need to find someone who will accept me as a refuge and I've gotta a few PM's about places that people reccomend but again, bliksem was highly reccomended and liked on this forum only 6 months ago.....
Posted by angstrom, 12-07-2006, 03:49 PM
I echo the comments of C-J-V I've been put off smaller companies, no matter how highly they are recommended. I went to Blik after they had received about 2 years of solid backslapping and plaudits in the hosting world. If this happens to a small company so well regarded then it can happen again. IMO 'Lighning' can strike twice (see what I did there?) my previous experience of the reseller industry included a host being sold and the service going down-hill, but that could be classed as normal, while I guess the bliksem situation is generally thought of in the hosting comunity as 'abnormal', but - "once bitten twice shy" is how I feel. as my work is mainly about selling bespoke web systems to people with hosting as an afterthought - I will now try my hardest to move away from using smaller companies. I know that sounds harsh, but this and the previous hosting situation simply gobbled up too much of my time, and I can't bill my clients for my faulty choices in hosting. I will in future choose a large monolithic company and direct my clients to interact with them directly, whatever the cost.
Posted by andychvt, 12-07-2006, 04:59 PM
I don't know as much as I would like about them, but if one of these large companies is AIT, avoid them like a plague. They would give Bliksem some stiff competition in the abusing your customers" department. That was why I was refugee fleeing to Bliksem, but I'm afraid I jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
Posted by davidjay, 12-08-2006, 06:25 PM
My attorney sent requests to Jav this week without response. I was on Luna If anybody knows how to contact Javier I'd also like to pursue legal action against him. I've setup a blog - http://bliksemfraud.blogspot.com/ so as I get more info I'll post there and here. Cheers, DJ
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 01:58 AM
I have been obliviously going about my business using Bliksem for a VPS. I too chose them about a year ago after having been let down by other hosts. I had decided to really really do my homework and find a decent, reliable host who wasnt going to vanish into thin air again. At the time Bliksem had rave reviews and they werent just recent, like someone said there was 2 years or so worth of good reviews. So I went with them.........now I cant log into WHM, my emails arent coming thru, sites are still there. Bliksem support is gone, forums are gone. Emails dont get answered. Seems like its the same sh1t alllllll over again. Is there one, just one reputable webhosting business who can stay in business for longer than 5 minutes???
Posted by webuyhosts, 12-12-2006, 03:15 AM
smells like a great buyout opportunity, i hope he can recover his business by going to LW which is the best center hands down in america.
Posted by vertoss, 12-12-2006, 02:28 PM
how are you guys access your stuff through FTP? im not very technical at all, only just found out how to change nameservers. my wife was the person who delt with this stuff but she recently passed away. you'd think being a paying customer you could get the help you needed when you needed it most but that doesn't seem to be the case with these guys. id really like to get some help on getting backups of our sites. can't connect through ftp, i had something called a vps, can't log into anything, can't get support from anywhere. can anyone point my in the right direction of getting help?
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 02:37 PM
Well the site was working altho email was screwed. no the ip address to my VPS is dead. So cant even FTP
Posted by zdss, 12-12-2006, 05:45 PM
looks like everything is dead with my site now.
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 06:00 PM
yep, id like to get hold of that Jav.........
Posted by andychvt, 12-12-2006, 06:02 PM
It's hard to know how to answer the last three posts, except to suggest reading the email I received from Bliksem and posted (see the #9 post a couple of pages back). Vertoss mentions just figuring out how to change the nameservers. It usually takes 24-48 hours for the nameserver change to take effect, so you might want to change the domain name to the IP address, 69.16.252.204 in your FTP program until those changes take effect. As for FTP, if you type "FTP tutorial" in Google, you can find some basic information on how to use FTP. Hope this helps.
Posted by zdss, 12-12-2006, 06:20 PM
Thanks for the reply - i have seen your post (i have to wonder why it wasn't sent to everyone, and why this information isn't posted on their site and why support is unavailable and emails to them bouncing back...). But anyway - my login details are not recognised by that server I was on 'joie' (70.84.107.52).
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 06:33 PM
Problem is i had dedicated IPs which i paid for but now are dead. I called the Planet Data Centre which is what Bliksem was using and they wouldnt tell me anything except to email abuse@theplanet I cant access WHM, Virtuozzo or any sites.
Posted by C~J~V, 12-12-2006, 07:25 PM
Here's a fun one... the IP that hostingjoy is on... well, I have a reciept for buying that IP from Bliksem. FTP to 69.16.252.204 won't acknowledge my accounts either. I started to play around and tried http://69.16.252.204/whm Wouldn't acknowledge my info. The certificate came up as issued to "barza.co-opnet.net" pumped that into http://www.hexillion.com and it seems co-opnet.net is all hidden registrar info too. Then I put 69.16.252.204 into hexillion and it resolved to liquidweb. I like LiquidWeb very much, but isn't this the same as Afghanastan harboring terrorists? I hope LiquidWeb steps up to the plate and helps us by burning this criminal.
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 08:40 PM
I cant believe the cheek of these people. How can they just up and vanish?? Can anyone get them on the phone number listed on their site. Im in South Africa and its 2.40AM!!! Ive been battling with this cr@pp all day. Got a new VPS with hostmaven.com and im setting up all the accounts but i still cant access the old VPS to copy stuff across. Unbelievable.....
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 09:17 PM
I think we can safely assume that we have been conned. The telephone number is not in service anymore. Think that says it all.
Posted by mesobob, 12-12-2006, 11:44 PM
Amazing, this time last year Bliksem could do no wrong. Now it looks like they`ve vanished into thin air, left customers screwed over, taken unauthorized payments and god knows what else. They have a lot to answer for, but sadly I doubt they`ll have the guts to say anything. Has anyone tried contacting them through Hostingjoy or whatever his new business is? Jeez, what a mess for you guys
Posted by Askari, 12-12-2006, 11:50 PM
hostingjoy.com just shows "AWBS License Error: Unable to validate license. Please contact the software vendor." Whatever that means. But im gonna keep an eye out and do what I can to make sure he never works in this business again.
Posted by mesobob, 12-13-2006, 12:37 AM
Man that`s bad. Every method of contacting him/them is down, dead or they simply ignore. Their support desk has been down for ages, and the forum. Well that was down for most of the summer, I remember that when I hosted there! Maybe file a complaint with the BBB, and what`s with all these award banners on their site for excellent service! Yeah, I`m afraid a conclusion can be drawn that they`re either in deep poop, ripping you guys off or closed up without telling you. Did I miss one? I`m still amazed how a host with such a stellar reputation of only a year ago, has now reared it`s ugly head.
Posted by v12kid, 12-13-2006, 02:20 AM
add me to the list, I had no clue any of this was going on. I have several site on there including a blog of mine that I put alot of effort into. Any updates as to what is happening? I just want a backup and im done with them
Posted by HKC_, 12-13-2006, 03:32 AM
it's the 4th times it happens since last month, I can't stand the roller coaster this time, if I can get into the server I will back up everything I have and *poof I'm gone it's ironic to name their service bliksem, in dutch it means fast and see how fast they fall down. can someone help me with connecting to the IP address mentioned on the previous thread [69.16.252.204] as they won't acknowledge my accounts, whether Cpanel, FTP or WHM. the most annoying thing is I'm hosting my company website using this server, and I can't even retrieve my back up. anyone can advise me how to resolve this? anyone have any idea which reseller I should switch to? Basically I'm hosting less than 10 sites and the traffic is not so heavy, but I demand quick server. Cheers, HKC
Posted by kejdis, 12-13-2006, 05:45 AM
Please somebody help how to backup the websites. I was hosted in the server Joie. I just need to save some of my most important clients websites. Thanks
Posted by ArsMagnaWeb, 12-13-2006, 06:21 AM
Hello, I had big websites and databases hosted on Bliksemhosting and now I am very concerned about. The most important thing is : How can I save my websites, databases and cpanel info? Please help... urgent Regards
Posted by Sammy95, 12-13-2006, 11:40 AM
Sorry to read about all of You who have lost Your files. Well, I am on the list of left behind Bliksem customers myselves. But really, we all did see this commin.. Or at least with all the up and downtime of the servers, you should have understood it. The best thing You can do if You lost Your files, is to start over again, and not to cry over spilled milk. I am quite sure You will never get them back from Jav. This is my third time I had a reseller account that I had to move away from a falling star. And it's my last. I have gone for a dedicated. More expencive, and I really don't need all the space, but I can't afford to loose any more of my clients so it's the only way to go. And - I did backup all my clients on an regular basis every week, so no tears this time for anyone of my clients here. Sammy
Posted by ArsMagnaWeb, 12-13-2006, 12:17 PM
What are the URLs ? Anyone have updates on these news? Regards, Ed
Posted by HKC_, 12-13-2006, 12:44 PM
I'm really frustrated here, if at least I could get all the data.... I'm just hoping if those guys from blisksem sees this, they would just fix it on just for a while so we can all get the data out.
Posted by Sammy95, 12-13-2006, 01:47 PM
My guess is that they do not even have the serveres any more, the datacenter probably didn't get its money and closed them down. My Semi-dedicated account has been down and gone for many many weeks now. and my reseller account went yesterday. The only chance I think You have is to try to log into the server mentioned above and hope that You can log into Your account there. If they moved it..... Try this IP: Customers http://69.16.252.204:2082 & Resellers https://69.16.252.204:2087 If You are lucky then You will find Your account and can get a backup. If that doesn't help - then I guess You have learned it the hard way. Sammy
Posted by lindmar, 12-13-2006, 03:10 PM
I can still access my sites and I need to MOVE THEM NOW! If a Reseller wants to step up to the plate with solid reviews at WHM and get my money everymonth and help me start migrating sites RIGHT NOW. They have me as a LONG TERM CUSTOMER>
Posted by ArsMagnaWeb, 12-13-2006, 03:29 PM
Hi, These IPs don't work for me. What about other IPs for different servers? I have created a new topic to help people retrieve their data from Bliksemhosting: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=569464 Please post more information on how to access whm. Thanks in advance, Ed
Posted by Sammy95, 12-13-2006, 03:55 PM
I'm sorry I do not have other IP's. Its the same IP's as I got in my mail. That's the only server I know of that they have running. Just start downloading Home Directory Backup from the Backup-Icon-page. I would suggest to use phpmyadmin instead of the mySQL backup link for databases. That mySQL link in the Backup page has failed several times for me. Don't know why. But You don't wanna end up with a bad backup on your maybe last chance. I have plenty of unused space on my dedicated here in Europe, but I'm not a reseller to others than my local clients here. I have the possibillity for reseller accounts, but that wasn't my plan - I don't want to oversell my server.... but maybe I could help You.. You could e-mail me your details.. Sammy
Posted by andychvt, 12-14-2006, 12:34 PM
I feel so sorry for all those in trouble because of Bliksem and who fear the loss of their data, but there is yet another thing to be concerned about. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I moved everything away about a month ago. I cancelled my account three weeks ago and received an email confirmation of that. I moved on to another host and thought the nightmare was over. Today, I see I got two charges to my Credit Card made yesterday from Bliksem for $193.99 each. Even if I hadn't cancelled my account, this was the wrong amount at the wrong time - not due for renewal until December 28th) I am disputing them obviously, but wonder how to get rid of this Zombie. It's like a Cyber, real-life version of "Night of the Living Dead." Unfortunately, Bliksem IS still around and while they provide no service of any kind, they are still using our credit cards. I urge you all to keep a close look at the Credit cards you used when you first signed up for Bliksem, because they may be charging them in the future, even if you have cancelled your account and moved on.
Posted by mesobob, 12-14-2006, 12:45 PM
Shocking Several others have reported money being taken from their credit cards, even though their accounts were cancelled. Once I can undertstand a mistake may happen, but not a second, third, fourth..... time. If that`s the case, I just can`t believe the guy is a fraud. Bliksem were a top company only year ago, now they`re taking unauthorized money from credit cards. Surely this goes beyond crappy service, this is theft. I don`t know much about legal stuff, but this needs reporting to the authorities, surely.
Posted by HKC_, 12-14-2006, 12:52 PM
luckily I've already switch to paypal, and I can easily block them from there, but I'm still worried if they have my credit card record. Can we all combine complains and report it to BBB or authority re. hosting cancellation without notice or even get them for fraud? Harry
Posted by Swelly, 12-14-2006, 01:59 PM
You can cancel this by contacting your bank, if you feel that they will use your credit card in the future.
Posted by lindmar, 12-14-2006, 03:23 PM
I was able to access my WHM until yesterday.. Now I'm getting this error "cannot read license File" can anyone help me?
Posted by Swelly, 12-14-2006, 03:25 PM
That's because now the license file is out of date. Now what???? http://faq.cpanel.net/show.cgi?qa=115631489806432
Posted by lindmar, 12-14-2006, 03:27 PM
Good question! And another big thankyou to resellerzoom for not properly transferring the 10 important domains yesterday when they could be transferred... Even though they told me they had been properly transferred.
Posted by lindmar, 12-14-2006, 03:31 PM
What now is LiquidWeb shoudl STEP UP and help some of us save our sites. What is wrong with this scenario? Liquidweb is harboring terrorists and allowing them to compete. Let me get my sites and be done with it.
Posted by Swelly, 12-14-2006, 04:15 PM
good luck guys http://verify.cpanel.net 69.16.252.204 using package LIQUIDWEB-INTERNAL and is licensed though: Liquid Web Inc (active on: 2006-08-22 19:45:30, group: Liquidweb*) and is expired/deactivated by matt@liquidweb.com on 2006-12-13 16:33:32.
Posted by eldawg, 12-14-2006, 04:33 PM
I am so glad I signed up for my service with Paypal as it should be much easier to cancel. This business of charging customer credit cards for random amounts is very scary.
Posted by zdss, 12-14-2006, 05:03 PM
for the server entitled "Joie" (70.84.107.52):
Posted by Ben_G, 12-14-2006, 05:27 PM
If you have the usernames and passwords for each site you need to transfer then your new provider can use the "Copy an account from another server with account password". This method works on a server with an expired license as it uses FTP to upload the pkgacct script and create/transfer/restore the backup.
Posted by Swelly, 12-14-2006, 07:07 PM
That could work too! Good thinking.
Posted by floriauck, 12-16-2006, 02:42 PM
I just renewed my yearly hosting with bliksem one week ago. I didnt notice any problems untill two days ago. Now, I cant access any of my sites, email is down, etc. My Sites were hosted on PAIX. Does anybody know how to access PAIX in order to backup files? I just wrote LiquidWEb, but it looks like they arent able to help. If anybody is interessted in legal action against this company, I am more than willing to join in any class action etc.. Thanks, Florian
Posted by Swelly, 12-16-2006, 02:44 PM
Why not chargeback the yearly payment. On a side note I would suggest never paying for hosting on a yearly term! Do you have an IP address in a welcome email or anything for PAIX?
Posted by davidjay, 12-16-2006, 03:07 PM
Yes - do a chargeback asap.... If we can find Jav we will serve him papers on behalf of everyone so if anybody has heard from him in the last 2 weeks please send me whatever email address he used....and if anybody knows his physical whereabouts send that over for sure! These are the addresses where we've tried to contact him already: abuse@blikhelp.com admin@bliksemhosting.com admin@hostingjoy.com jav@bliksem.com jav@hostingjoy.com javier@bliksem.com javier@hostingjoy.com javierv@bliksemhosting.com javierv@hostingjoy.com sales@bliksemhosting.com
Posted by ramavps, 12-16-2006, 04:16 PM
i am afraid that his problem beccome LIKE VarHosting Problem this days http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=563284
Posted by JVS_Hosting, 12-16-2006, 04:39 PM
WOW! I'm terribly sorry to all those whom have had issues from this company. It seems a common trend today with all of the bigger hosting providers to get so hungry for business, they forget the most important part if to TAKE CARE OF THE CLIENTS!! I believe that now a days the best solution is to go with a smaller to medium sized hosting business, someone that has been in business over 2 years, has never changed business names, and has the same owner(s) still. Also as Hostfrog has mentioned, and maybe others, never pay anything in advance, as if things do not work out, it may be hard to recover your funds, which is something JVS is currently dealing with, with our last server provider. Make sure to ask plenty of question to your next provider, but also don;t let this bad experience leave a bad "taste in your mouth" for your next provider, as all providers are not the same, and there are SOME honest ones still left out there, RARE, but there are some Best wishes to everyone, and GOOD LUCK! -Shaun-
Posted by C~J~V, 12-16-2006, 06:33 PM
JVS, I hear where you're coming from but after this experience, I have developed some serious issues with trusting in smaller companies. Even though I don't need it, I've opted to go with a VPS from LiquidWeb. They have an address that I can physicaly visit. They have so much invested in their business that I'm particular that they aren't going to "vanish". AND THEY DON'T YELL AT ME WHEN I CALL (insert wild laughter here) They have a corporate structure, and are able to do things on the fly where non-datacenter owners can't. Maybe in the future I'll change my mind, but for now I'll stick with real business people and not a ghost.
Posted by Sammy95, 12-16-2006, 07:29 PM
If They dont give You what You have payed for then contact Your creditcard company and have them to withdraw the amount. Then it's fraud. I really wonder how many that still signs up at Bliksemhosting? They _had_ a good reputation, and their site is still running. Not everyone reads this forum. PAIX will never return. As far as I remember Bliksemhosting.com was hosted on PAIX, but it is now moved to Javs new server BARZA ref the nameservers. This means PAIX is gone. I dont think they can help because PAIX was as far as i know hosted at the Planet, and not at the Liquidweb center. Refering to Javs e-mail his new server BARZA is though.... So - Liquidweb do have some connection with him. Sammy
Posted by Sammy95, 12-16-2006, 07:43 PM
High investments can turn both ways. It might be an advantage, but if they cant control the growing, it'll quickly turn into an disadvantage. I'll say maybe that was Javs problem. Quickly to the top, and then straight down. I am 100% he is reading this, so why can't he tell us the truth abouth his customers missing sites and why everything went wrong... Sammy
Posted by zdss, 12-16-2006, 07:52 PM
Yep - contact your credit card company and dispute the transaction on the basis that you haven't received the service you purchased, namely 1 year of hosting. Some credit card companies are better than others but keep on at them about it, also don't give them too much information about already receiving a weeks worth of hosting - it'll just confuse them, just give them enough to initiate a chargeback. Hopefully Jav will have enough on his hands without responding to Paypal regarding the chargebacks ... and hopefully people will keep flooding his email accounts with junk, so that the disputes go unchallenged. --- A sidenote regarding paying in advance - whilst it means you have less security as the host has your money in advance, it can get some nice discounts AND if you're not in the USA it does mean you know exactly how much you're paying and not subject to the variability of the exchange rate.
Posted by Swelly, 12-16-2006, 10:14 PM
Well if you think outside of the box, smaller companies can also provide good support and service overall just as good as any other major player. It's all about customer centric attitude and how you go about settling disputes and making it better for the customer. Furthermore, smaller companies can spend a little more one on one time with customers that are infact having issues and work directly to resolve any matters which may be causing the customer to think about switching providers. It's all about how much you are for the customer and not just their money.
Posted by eldawg, 12-17-2006, 12:06 PM
I believe PAIX was 67.19.52.116. Its been down for a few days...good thing I moved my stuff outta there last week. It will be interesting to see if they send me an annual renewal through Paypal.
Posted by catfished, 12-17-2006, 12:54 PM
If you have total faith in your host, I see nothing wrong with paying annually. Even if something went wrong, most reputable hosts will refund the remaining balance, even Site5 will do that. I paid annually with Dotable.com and I sleep just great every night.
Posted by Swelly, 12-17-2006, 02:32 PM
67.19.52.116 using package THEPLANET-INTERNAL and is licensed though: The Planet.com Internet Services, Inc. (active on: 2004-07-18 18:29:12, group: The Planet*) and is expired/deactivated by theplanet on 2006-12-14 14:01:03. Even if the server was up the cp is not active.
Posted by HKC_, 12-18-2006, 12:11 AM
hi guys, I was wondering if any of Ex-bliksem user have any luck accessing WHM or Cpanel using this detail here: My Account is Hosted on paix.bluwerk.net and I've tried changing my domain and NS, all I get is a Cpanel login page, without any luck accessing it, do any of you have succeeded in retrieving old data? if yes, can you please share, this thing really frustrate me. Last edited by HKC_; 12-18-2006 at 12:14 AM.
Posted by Swelly, 12-18-2006, 12:13 AM
cPanel login page? Does your login not work? You can have your host transfer your files from FTP aslong as you have the login information for your account.
Posted by HKC_, 12-18-2006, 12:26 AM
I have one main account that I signed up with them and several child account under the main account, I have tried to connect all account to the ip given above, but none of them are working. Harry
Posted by Swelly, 12-18-2006, 12:28 AM
See if you can FTP into any of those sites through an FTP client.
Posted by simpsols, 12-18-2006, 09:06 AM
my credit card company is not returning my transactions. I had a VPS with Bliksem Hosted on Mina. I lost my everything and also lost more than 50 clients because of data loss. I also tried to contact USABox.com and informed them about the fraud he did, but they are not ready to give our his real information. May be, some authorities like police can take the orignal address of jav from usabox.com. They must have his address and details as they ship him everything from the dummy address on bliksem site. So anybody in US can file something against Jav. Any way, how can i convince my bank to chargeback money?? Regards Sajid Regards Sajid
Posted by one19, 12-18-2006, 10:05 AM
Paying annually works only when you've been there, done that. However, for people starting out, it's best that they don't get tempted with great savings for longer payment terms. Some people may not easily differentiate a company like Dotable.com (stellar reputation, going back to Aussie Bob's HTTPMe.com days) vs. something like BliksemHosting.com (what a reputation, going back to Jav's earlier scams). Knowing the difference between a Dotable and a BliksemHosting takes a bit of time. And when you get the hang of it, I guess paying annually is fine. (Aussie Bob, I now it's an insult to compare Dotable to Bliskem. Sorry mate, just trying to make a point)
Posted by floriauck, 12-18-2006, 10:16 AM
has anybody tried to contact the planet regarding this problem? whats the planets url? LIquidweb tried to help me but it looked like my files from PAIX were not moved to the new server. They couldnt locate my reseller account. florian
Posted by redub, 12-18-2006, 10:35 AM
theplanet~dot~com Don't bother, I called last night & they didnt even care to hear the situation or which resellers were involved (Superbservers & Bliskem) I'm contacting superbservers now, they are the ones who lease space to Jav correct?? It seems as only a portion of the bliksem clients were moved to liquidweb, why? If superb didnt retain the data many of us are simply screwed.
Posted by redub, 12-18-2006, 10:54 AM
for those of you who didnt have your account moved to liquidweb, I would send emails to superb & liquidweb's abuse department requesting what measures need to be taken to get due access to your data. If it doesnt prove fruitful, at least both companies are notified of the situation. Who do we contact to organize a class action suit? I'm about an hours drive from Miami & would love to catch one of em out.
Posted by HKC_, 12-18-2006, 11:03 AM
wow that's good to hear that Liquidweb is trying to help you, it's better than nothing, it seems that my file is not moved from the old PAIX server and might still be in the old crashed server. Harry
Posted by HKC_, 12-18-2006, 11:07 AM
care to share superb contact details? HKC
Posted by Swelly, 12-18-2006, 11:37 AM
Seems to be the case, unfortunately.
Posted by kr21, 12-18-2006, 12:08 PM
More likely than anything else, the data was lost. Have to agree with redub.
Posted by HKC_, 12-18-2006, 12:12 PM
just file a dispute to paypal and they took me as a complaint only with this reason: so if you any of you guys paid with paypal, please complain to them and see if paypal took this case seriously. Harry
Posted by Swelly, 12-18-2006, 12:21 PM
Yeah I am particular PayPal will take your side on these. Only thing is bad is you have no data. Sorry guys.
Posted by redub, 12-18-2006, 02:11 PM
I had a detective over earlier, said there is merit to the claims of fraud, but it would have to be done in a civil suit (in my case anyway) so I'm off to the courthouse to file a suit. The other here who have more seroius claims were recommended by this particular detective to file a report. I have Javiers actual postage address, I wont post it but its available thru the florida department of corporations (sunbiz-dot-org) he has 2 other business listings one with christine as an officer with the same home address (now dissolved) bliksem is listed in the miami area. unfortunately I think he is from madrid & christine has bragged about her love for barcelona, so they might skip off to spain. Ive filed a complaint with the BBB, reported the federal internet crimes division & filed a local report with my police department. the previous BBB report was from texas, there will be a new report listed soon with thier florida branch. I really would like to speak personally with anyone looking to bring a class action suit. I'll be the first to say I'm an idiot for not having a recent backup, but my site is a 5yo forum with irreplaceable information & I will fight to get it back. My first step is to get a subpeona (sp) or court order to retrieve my data from bliksem's or inadvertantly superbs servers. Liquidweb were able to inform me that my accounts were not at thier datacenter. Having the data taken without permission makes my approximate userbase of 6000 members open to having thier personal information compromised.
Posted by andychvt, 12-18-2006, 02:47 PM
I just happened to go to the IP address, 69.16.252.204 and both FTP and Cpanel are working now after not having worked for me for many days. Perhaps people should try again to get their data
Posted by Tsyle, 12-18-2006, 03:01 PM
What is needed for a class action suit? I know nothing about laws so I do not know what is needed to sue someone.
Posted by Swelly, 12-18-2006, 03:05 PM
If you guys are really serious you should contact http://www.cybertriallawyer.com
Posted by redub, 12-18-2006, 03:22 PM
its been up.......... if youre a bliksem shared client, you have a good chance of being successfully migrated, the problem is for dedicated, resellers & VPS clients especially ones with custom nameservers & extra IP's liquidweb mentioned giving bliksem one server with alot of shared accounts on it. that is the IP you're reaching. Dedicated & VPS clients didnt likely make the move, are in limbo at superb/the planet or have been wiped completely.
Posted by Swelly, 12-18-2006, 03:26 PM
What would that matter? If the resellers are on the same box with the same IP they should be able to login to their WHM or even cpanel accounts with the main IP address.
Posted by redub, 12-18-2006, 03:43 PM
True, & i can be wrong, but iv'e tried numerous time to no avail, I'm a VPS account that was on Mina. Anyone else on mina successfully logon thru the new IP?
Posted by zabtek, 12-18-2006, 05:07 PM
I was on Mina as well with no success at recovering any data
Posted by one19, 12-18-2006, 08:13 PM
It's a tragedy for those who lost their data. But here's some advice for anyone who's still a BliksemHosting customer: get out while you still can! I know some of you may have paid for a year (If I'm not mistaken, I saw him put up offers of up to 4 years advanced payment). Javier Vidueira is a fraud. He went from bliksembiz.com to bliksemhosting.com and now he's trying to set-up hostingjoy.com. I pity those who still don't know about this guy's exploits.
Posted by mesobob, 12-18-2006, 08:28 PM
I don`t know whether Bliksem has a paypal account anymore. They suddenly announced they were no longer accepting paypal a few months ago. Seemed like a snap decision. Maybe their hand was forced!!
Posted by C~J~V, 12-18-2006, 10:40 PM
I've just spent an hour searching all over that site and found nothing.... can you give us a path? (I can see the scene from the original Frankenstien when the villagers came to the castle with torches and pitchforks)
Posted by ldcdc, 12-18-2006, 11:31 PM
Could be. I remember a 2+ years old thread where Christina said: http://www.webhostingchat.com/forum/...ighlight=spain I keep being amazed when I think how solid Bliksem looked, and what threads we have about them now.
Posted by vertoss, 12-19-2006, 02:20 PM
does anyone know the where bliksem got the servers for the VPS's they sold?
Posted by C~J~V, 12-19-2006, 03:14 PM
At least two places... The Planet and Liquid Web are the ones I know of.
Posted by Swelly, 12-19-2006, 04:21 PM
It more than likely will not help you too much to know who supplys Bliksem with their equipment. For the simple fact that there are liability issues when dealing with third party customers.
Posted by Askari, 12-19-2006, 05:36 PM
My VPS was at The Planet as far as I know. I tried phoning them when the VPS first vanished and they couldnt give me anything, just said I should write an email explaining what happened to abuse@theplanet.com
Posted by redub, 12-19-2006, 07:02 PM
My understanding is that all bliksem accounts were originally served from the planet thru bliksems provider superbservers. Jav cut ties with superb, moved *some* data to liquidweb, which is why some accounts are still available thru the new IP. liquidweb was able to tell me Jav has one crowded box with them, superb was able to tell me my data *was* hosted at the planet, which I knew. that info was included in my welcome email from bliksem. The planet didnt care to even know what happened.
Posted by Swelly, 12-19-2006, 07:09 PM
That is unfortunate, but if you look at this from both sides of the paper you will see why they can not really get involved too much.
Posted by redub, 12-19-2006, 07:21 PM
Duly noted & we appreciate your constant input in this thread as a bystander. I hope your helpfulness is fruitful & you get some bliksem business on the rebound, but you surely understand our frustration. I havn't dove deep into the upstream providers TOS or policies, but I'll ask you, if you offer reseller space & your client abandoned hundreds of clients, removed all forms of communication, allegedly committed federal credit card fraud & you were sitting on these accounts that are paid up.....what would you do? you do offer reseller accounts correct? what is your policy? I've seen policies written where companies will offer to absorb those accounts in the event the reseller needs to bail, I've had this option before when I was reselling. whats your take? Not a personal jab at you, just looking for your input as an example.
Posted by Swelly, 12-19-2006, 07:47 PM
We will not otherwise disclose customer personal and account information unless we have reason to believe that disclosing such information is necessary to identify, make contact with, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing harm or interfering with the rights or property of HostFrog, our customers, or others. We may provide information to regulatory authorities and law enforcement officials in accordance with applicable laws or where HostFrog has a good faith belief that the law requires such disclosure. HostFrog customer information is secure at all times and will not under any circumstances be discussed with any individual at any time unless that individual coincides with the above policy.
Posted by redub, 12-19-2006, 08:21 PM
So if bound by your policy, representatives of these providers to bliksem have already said too much. I wasnt expecting you to say you'd violate your resellers privacy by digging into their server & start passing out backups, nor would I expect that from Superb, & surely not the Planet. The Superb TOS states they aren't to be liable for end user support, understood, but it also states their clients ARE responsible for support, which isn't happening. I respect that hostfrog, but gotta say, all the agreements are geared towards protecting the ones getting paid & not the end user writing the check. I won't veer off into that & again, nothing personal, you obviously run a respected outfit. I think our efforts are better placed over at http://bliksemfraud.blogspot.com/ by counting heads, making a plan & taking action if anyone is serious about getting thier data, money, hard work, or good name back. I have to send an email to a 4 year client & tell him his webstore is no more & pending orders cannot be retrieved & hope he can make it thru the holidays without his main source of income thru his most profitable time of the year. I recommend anyone who had anything lost, at least file a BBB complaint, (they have current unsatisfactory reports from other ventures) a federal internet crime report & form over at http://bliksemfraud.blogspot.com/ Happy holidays.
Posted by jtown, 12-19-2006, 08:35 PM
Ok, I have a couple of sites with Bliksem (or had) and they are all down. I'm not so worried about the hosting fees, but I need a way to get my mysql data off a bunch of the sites. Anyone know how to do this off server Joie? Damn this.
Posted by redub, 12-19-2006, 08:45 PM
As of right now: you can check to see if your account was migrated to Barza: IP address: 69.16.252.204 http://69.16.252.204/~your-account-username or try logging in via: Cpanel: https://69.16.252.204:2083 WHM: https://69.16.252.204:2087 If you're successful, congrats, get your gear & get out, if not, welcome to the club.
Posted by jtown, 12-19-2006, 09:29 PM
Damnit ... no dice. I keep reading this thread to see what happens.
Posted by Swelly, 12-19-2006, 10:03 PM
Well if you are waiting for access, it seem its like waiting for a miricle. I hope that it happens for all of you and your customer's sake. redub, I do understand where you are coming from and its never good to tell a client that they no longer have their data (had to do this once before, and will never do it again). Again, I understand completely. However, this is simply put as business! Whether the said company is running it correctly or not is irrelevant. I am by no means sticking up for niether of the said companies, and I do see all of the points made in this entire thread, by every member. This could be a valuable learning lesson for everyone that in directly involved. Backups should be kept on your office or home PC aswell. Putting that aside, I wish you all the best of luck with this Bliksem situation.
Posted by mesobob, 01-13-2007, 01:56 AM
Looks like they may have pulled the plug on his latest project/scam Hostingjoy. As a former Bliksem customer, I was just browsing to see if the Bliksem site was still up and running, to my amazement it still is. However, Hostingjoy is showing a `page cannot be displayed`. Did anyone get their monies bacK? Seems to have gone quiet on the great Jav man-hunt!!
Posted by Justin, 01-13-2007, 04:41 AM
ldcdc, I too am somewhat amazed, bliksem did appear to be very solid and managed to maintain a fairly good reputation on WHT for awhile there. Then now this, somewhat suprised the truth didn't come out about the previous "scams" before, guessing that is due to the reputation so not many had a reason to go digging previously. I'd urge anyone who still can reach their servers, get whatever you can and find a stable provider (there are plenty out there who will be more than willing to assist you).
Posted by Krang, 01-15-2007, 02:35 AM
Not yet, at least for me. It's been over 3 months now since I've even heard from them about my refund (which was supposedly issued almost 5 months ago). Their help desk is still offline, and now they even let the domain name they used for their support forums expire (bliksterhq.com). Maybe someone should buy it and redirect it to the bliksemfraud blog.
Posted by webuyhosts, 01-16-2007, 12:35 AM
i wish i could get a hold of him, seems like s sinking ship, there iss till some customers that can be saved i'am sure as he was decent size, but his phone is discounted
Posted by Indichosts.net, 01-17-2007, 07:11 AM
He is sinking not because of bad business decisions, but due to bad business ethics.
Posted by mrjake22, 02-05-2007, 08:48 PM
Grr. F*ck bliksem. Telephone number is downTheir site and my site is downThey have PO box mailing adress 69.16.252.204 that is their ip who goes back to Liquid Web Inc. I called them to see what was up and they coudlnt help me. Their bliksemhosting.com domain is registered with enom. I need my data can anybody help?